Knuckles Odyssey
by Double-Dweeb
Summary: This is a recounting of Knuckles early years of guardian, how he became the guardian, and why he is who he is. It starts a few years before his main game introductions and shows more of his personal struggles with the Island, and his progress to the formidable Guardian we all know and love. I haven't written in a while but I encourage reviews and feedback. I hope you Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

I don't know how I got here, how it all started. As far back as I can remember, this island has been my one and only constant. My furthest memory is a blinding light leading into a narrowing plummet down a waterway on a hillside. I rode the currents for miles before they let up to calmer waters where I managed to hobble onto a riverside shoreline littered with smooth stone. I had taken seconds to catch my bearings and took a look around, only to eye a burlap sache floating down the waterway at a leisurely pace, leading me to think it had been thrown in behind myself. I got back in the water to retrieve the bag and drug it to shore. Upon investigation, I found a crinkled wet map, a large brimmed hat that seemed to be made of hide, a flaked flint knife, a torch bundled in flammable cloth, and a small note.

The note read "_You will find your place amongst the horizon." _

My first thought was that of suspicion, the map was next. It seemed to lead several miles into the jungle, and across what looked to be a desert with a canyon running through the center. The measurements on the map had to be off, to place that desert this near a large roofed jungle with no transitory biomes seemed ludicrous. The sun was high overhead, so the torch was not needed yet. I didn't understand what what going on, or who I was, but the items I retrieved did give me some sort of direction, a purpose even. So I draped the sash around my shoulder, placed the hat on my head, and busted my way through the forest as best I could, following the sun overhead as a bearing in tune with the map.

What at first seemed like a simple trek through the jungle ended up being a horror show of leeches, slippery roots, and briars. I had to make some sort of footwear if I was going to continue this route, although the wet ground didn't feel too bad on my feet. In fact, the more I kept my footing on the ground, the stronger I began to feel in my direction. I did my best to follow a simple trail and stick with the dirt, rather than the mossy slopes surrounding me. I walked until my feet were riddled with cuts and sores from the vicious undergrowth, of the jungle until I reached a sheer cliffside out of nowhere. It had to be at least two hundred feet down, and I could see for several miles off into a lower section of this jungle. The whole thing looked like a giant bowl, with an opening at the very end leading off into what I could only assume was a waterway that further leads into the desert. There was also some sort of structure protruding toward the center of the map had failed to mention any of this, and the sun was falling fast so I planted down on the edge of the jungle for the night.

It wasn't until then had I sat and thought about what was happening, and I tried my best to remember who I was. I looked at my hands, chest, legs, all red. I had been slapped in the face countless times in the forest by dreadlocks, so I at least knew my race. One peculiar trait I noticed was the two protruding spikes coming out of my hands. At first I was shocked, but it didn't take me long to get over it, as though I had known the whole time. At the end of my inspection I had more questions than answers, and nothing was adding up. I decided to clear a spot in the grass, and tried my best to sleep.

Throughout the night the jungle sang to me. Big things, small things, the forest was alive at night, and although I was initially incited with worry, I became in sync with my surroundings and did manage to sleep through nature's symphony.

I awoke to the sound of a thousand birds singing their morning hello. I got out of the hole in the dirt I called home the night before, grabbed my gear bag, and devised about my next move. The cliff had hundreds of long vines draping the face, some were nearly a foot in circumference. Another idea I had was to follow the cliffside and see if there was a less treacherous way to the lower basin. I decided getting to the easier terrain was vital to my journey, as my map had a nigh straight line to the x I was to locate. Firm in my resolve, I found the thickest vine I could and began a slow climb down the cliffside.

It began as easy as I could've hoped for, but the vine did narrow the lower I got. After about thirty feet of climbing the vine narrowed. I reached out to bundle multiple vines in my hand for a stronger lead, and continued downward. The further I got, the less the winds hindered my progress. At around the halfway point, I reached a small outcropping to rest on. My arms were tired and body sore. My stomach rumbled only increasing my hope that the valley below had some sort of food. It was then I saw a small lizard cleverly camouflaged to the rock wall it was on. It was as though a switch had flipped in my head turning my to predator mode. I slowly reached into my bag to grab my knife and positioned myself to leap in and attack.

Upon my jump I felt the ground beneath shake and crumble and I fell, watching the lizard get further and further away. After what couldn't have been more than five seconds, I had an instinctive reflex to jab into the rock rushing by me. To my shock my plummet had halted, and I was hanging a mere twenty feet from the land below. The initial surge of adrenaline had kept me fast enough to plant my other arm into the wall and I slowly shuffled down the side.

With my feet finally on the ground, my body caught up with my and my right shoulder seared with pain from the sudden stop of the fall. I took some time to rest and stretch, and drank some creek water before continuing toward what looked like a massive pillar in the center of the basin. Minutes after continuing through the woods, I noticed the forest was less dense than the one above, and had much more plants growing on the floor. Upon my trek I saw pond sized clusters of flowers ranging in size and color.

After passing through some of the growth, I spotted some strange round fruit growing from a vine. The lizard left a lot of empty space in my stomach, so I decided to eat the purple orb only to be greeted with a sweet rush of vitamins and flavor. I ate several bushels before I crammed a few more into my bag and sauntered on.

The sky was turning a vibrant red-orange and I began to think of where I was going to plant it down for the night. In the midst of this though I saw a shadowy structure far off in the woods. As I got closer, it became clear to me that it was an old structure, predating my existence for sure. I reached the bottom of the stairs with minutes of daylight to spare. I climbed the stairs to the top and was met with a dark hallway, with the sound of silence bleeding within. I spent some time scraping my flint knife along the stone wall to light my torch before continuing in.

The first thing I noticed was the masterfully articulated carvings in the wall. They seemed to depict an ancient race of echidnas going about their daily lives. Some had water baskets, others were carrying food. After a minute or two of walking and observing, the short hall ended and became sloping stairs leading down. The further down I got, the more disturbing and detailed the carvings became, indicating their age. I reached the bottom and it ended in a long hallway with holes in the ceiling allowing me to see some moonlight, so at least I wasn't too deep. Along the hall, the images showed several instances of conflict between the original echidnas and what looked like other species entirely, with a totem chiseled in with the the different idols of each destroyed village.

Five minutes of walking and observing, the very last image was a giant alter with some sort of gem on top. When I first saw the gem carving, my vision blurred into a green haze and I heard the sound of flames. What I heard next sincerely concerned me, it was the voice of a young girl screaming and pleading in some ancient language. That is the last thing I remember before darkness.

What must have been hours after, I woke up to the familiar sound of birds with a sunbeam coming right through the ceiling into my eye. My torch had burned out,leaving a burn mark on the cobble I slept on and left a firewood scent in the air. The dream I experienced was very troubling, but my mind decided to chalk it up to a mixture of exhaustion and those weird berries I ate. I of course wasn't going to give up my only food, so I decided to only eat a few at a time instead of whole bushels till I found other sustenance.

It didn't take long to find a sizeable hole in the ceiling to climb out of where I finally caught a breath of fresh air, and catch my bearings. I continued west toward the break in the cliffs with more questions than answers. The rest of the hike went relatively peacefully until I stumbled upon some more ancient structures. They were definitely smaller than the temple I had stayed in overnight, and looked more like small hovels for a long dead race. There were several small huts dotted around a central well, or at least what once was a well.

I went through the homes to see if I could find anything of use, and left with nothing more than a heavy walking stick, some fire tinder, candles, and a few meters of fiber cordage rope. The map had to have been accurate to lead me across two notable locations, so I kept along it. To my delight, there was an old walking path tucked outside the village area and it lined up to my map at least as best I could tell. So I followed it. Not long after, I was accompanied by a flowing creek beside the walking path, giving me something other than my thoughts to listen to.

After what seemed like hours of walking and creek drinking, I felt a noticeable chill in the air and the wind had picked up. The trees were thinning out allowing me to see the rock face and narrow opening in the middle so I picked up the pace. Finally, I had reached the opening only to be met with a narrow cave. The torch I let burn the night before would have come in handy now, but at least I had candles to light the way. To my surprise the cave didn't last too long and soon opened to a huge opening, the only thing in sight was the long mountainous sides, and the sky. I looked down and saw…..clouds. The berries were definitely a bad choice, but what is an echidna to do?

After the initial shock, I noticed a wooden bridge about fifty feet above me, leading out into the clouds. Luckily this side of the cliff was more slanted with many outcroppings to use as stepping stones, and if worse came to worse I could try using my fists to ascend, to the peril of my shoulders. So I gussied up the side, biding each and every step until I climbed atop the wooden bridge. It was large to say the least, at least fifteen feet wide, and was suspended with two ropes on either side. There was a certain mystery about it, I could see no end and it appeared to be going slightly up. What could this be connected to I wondered.

So instead of further question, I walked along the skybridge for awhile until it rose above the cloudline blocking my path. What I saw towards the top was what I could only think of as a floating island, with many streams of water flowing of the sides. From my point of view, it didn't look obscenely large, but it was for certain to big to be floating in the middle of the sky. When I finally crested the end of the bridge, what I saw resonated a wave of peace across my body.

There was an alter, several levels high, with a massive beautiful gem spiraling at the top. As soon as I laid my eyes on it I remembered the carvings in the temple, and my body felt at rest for the first time since I first stumbled out of the river. It let off a certain aura, and it only got stronger the closer I got, with each step feeling like healing bliss. I reached the mantle of the gem and it let off a light quiet hum of energy. My only thought was "touch it.", so I did.

With my hand on the gem, I felt it's power course through my body, causing my fir to stick out. The power was like nothing I could have imagined, my arms felt stronger, my legs faster, my muscles rippled with sudden excitement and growth for several seconds until I fell out of it's grasp onto the ground. I must have passed out, because when I arose it was night time. The gem was still rotating in place, bleeding light into the sky around. I looked off into the clear night sky only to be greeted with the rising sun. I could see every shadow on the distant planet below, every cloud cast a shadow. I was along the horizon. I didn't understand why at the time, but I knew where I needed to be and what I was supposed to do.

This alter, this gem, they are my place. This had to be what the note was talking about, I hadn't been able to see the sun actually rise at any other location along the trip. This had to be my new home. I looked down at my body to be met with some shocking results. My body was denser, my arms and chest had clear definition lines. The spikes on my fists had become thicker, with actual bone tip ripping at the end, and a large white horizontal cresent had adorned my chest.

It was then I decided who I was, and what I had to do. I gazed off into the sky with the gem at my back, and said my first words since my drop into the jungle.

"I am Knuckles the Echidna, and this is my Island."


	2. Chapter 2

It had been several nights since I had found the shrine. The radiating glow of the gem filled my spirit with strength. Though I had ventured back into the woods a few times, I had maintained a safe distance to the gem at all times. The first few days here blessed me with pleasant weather, but the skies were darkening and spiraling all around floating island pushing me into building a shelter. I grabbed my bag and headed to the edge of the forest. My first problem was my lack of tools, how was I going to hack a tree down without some form of large blade? I had my knife still but after a few unsuccessful swings I had barely managed to scrape through the bark.

I spent a while trying different ideas with what I had on hand. The rain had finally started to drizzle down soaking me from head to toe. In a fit of wet frustration I impulsively punched the tree, and to my shock the hull of the log ruptured into splinters and the tree fell to the ground. I knew something had engulfed my body at the shrine so I had a quick answer at least, who's to argue with an impressive punch?

I tested out my growing theory by punching more trees, all having the same result. What felt like normal effort on my part ended with explosive results. After sending a few tall trees crashing to the forest floor, I pondered on how I would transport them the ten minute walk back to the shrine. My first idea was to punch them into smaller pieces, but what if they splintered entirely and left no salvageable wood? The second idea was to simply try dragging them, so I got a firm grip on one of the smaller ones and found it had the same weight as a small rock. Again, I attributed this strength to the gem and didn't question it. After the first tree, I moved on to the next, and the next after that until they were all lying in a neat line at the base of the shrine.

At the time, I had no idea about shelter building and the storm had begun to pick up. I decided on planting three of the longer logs into the ground to make a triangular shape where they could support each other. For walls, I was going to use some of the larger pieces of foliage from tree tops. I started by ripping the top limbs and snags off of the trees, and then dug out three stake holes. After the dig I planted the trees into the holes, and tied them together at the top with the cordage I found a few days prior. I stripped long fibers of soft inner tree flesh to fasten the walls. For a hut that took nearly an hour and a half to build it provided much needed protection from the elements, or at least the wind and rain. If only for the night.

My first night in the hut went as peacefully as it could. The lullaby of the jungle I heard the nights before was replaced with loud cracks of thunder above, as though the heavens were arguing. All the while the glistening gem hummed in the background, stabilizing every other sound with it's eerie white noise. The morning after was overcast with white clouds rushing around with the wind. The rain had stopped at least, but the storm had left the ground muddy and the forest dripping. I opted to eat some of the purple fruit I found in the jungle, but the majority of them seemed to have spoiled and had a much more bitter taste than I was used to. My body needed other nutrition anyways, the sweet orbs couldn't sustain me forever I thought. Catching and cooking food was going to be today's priority.

The first step was to dig out a sizable fire pit. I don't know how I knew at the time to cook any meat I came across, call it instinctual if you must. The pit was a few inches deep, and an arms length wide. I then outlined it with some flat rocks from the nearby stream before I called it finished. Soon after, I foraged for a stick to turn into a spear for fishing. I found a long flexible piece of lumber that fit my grand scheme perfectly. I used the flint knife to split the end, and then I fixated the blade as best I could in the groove. I used some remain plant fibers to tie it off and gave it a few test throws to make sure it stuck. A few botched throws later, I sauntered off to the creek with spear in hand, my mind fixated on protein for the night.

Upon arrival I already saw some medium sized fish idling in the calmer patches of water. That's when I saw it, a massive orange fish with four fins adorned to both sides of its belly. My stomach churned as soon as I laid eyes on the bloated swimming morsel. After a drooling spell, I made my way to the proper side of the stream and planted myself right above the big guy, locked on with my spear facing down, and thrusted it as precisely as I could into what I hoped would be dinner. To my surprise, the blow was followed with rapid splashes in the water that stirred up dirt and obscured my vision, I must have landed the hit. After a few seconds of struggle the flailing stopped and was replaced with a slight red hue around my spear.

I pulled out my spear to examine amy prize. The fish caused my spear to bend so I took it further in land to put it into my bag. With an accomplished grin, I took it back to my camp to figure out a way to cook it. When I got back I removed my knife from the handle so I could start a fire with flint and finally managed to get an ember. After some trial and error I finally got a flame to stick and had an impressive blaze going, giving me the time I needed to fashion a sort of spit. I tied two pairs of two sticks into simple A frames and I intended to use my spear handle as the spit. When that was set up around the fire I removed the fish from my bag and used my dull knife to saw open the fish and remove the dirtier parts. I did however keep the guts, maybe I could use them to lure other sources of food into traps I thought.

Wit the fish above the fire, I rotated it every few minutes to give it a nice crisp and did so until the fins were burnt off to make sure it was thoroughly prepared. Afterwards, I sat down on a small log and enjoyed my feast. The portions I got were surprising, and I felt every ounce fueling my body back to its peak. With my stomach full and the waste stored away for further use, I sat back on the bottom steps of the shrine to watch an impressive sunset. What started as a wet and gloomy day turned into a beautiful tapestry of reds and oranges weaving across the sky. The food and fire helped to boost my mood of course, so for that night I was thankful.

The next morning I awoke in the same place, figuring I had fallen asleep looking into the night sky. My shelter was the first thing that crossed my mind that morning. It had managed to stave off the storm, but it was definitely worse for wear and could use to major upgrades. The frame was strong and I was certain it could hold heavier walls, so I went to gather more trees. When I got the some four trees back to camp I gently pried them into smaller half lengths. Next, I ripped them down the middle with as much precision as I could to get long flat pieces. After awhile I got the hang of it and started planting the planks onto the sides of the tepee, even opting to add a sub support of sticks along the middle of the frame to get a double layer of wall.

A morning of labor later, my island home was starting to come together, looking much more healthy to what I saw a few hours prior. I even used the scrap leaves and top foliage to form a sort of mat to sleep on to avoid the back pains from sleeping on the shrine steps. I threw large log on the coals from the night before, and went off to get some water and try for more fish. On my way through the small patch of woods to the waterway, I stepped on something that let off a loud creaking noise. I stopped in my tracks and jabbed at the ground with my spear, and after removing some ground fauna I found a small wooden door.

This, of course, peaked my curiosity. As much as I wanted to jump in, I knew I needed some sort of light source first and went back to camp to make two small torches with tree resin and dried fibers. I made haste back to the hatch and lit my torch before prying it open, uprooting grass around it. Upon opening I was met with a long tunnel into the dirt with vines swaying down the walls. I gripped a few larger vines and slowly creeped down the hole with torch in hand. To my surprise it was a rather short climb, maybe taking fifteen seconds to descend. At the bottom, there were two paths. On one side I heard running water, on the other a dark tunnel. I decide against getting wet, and went down the tunnel. After a short battle with cobwebs I went around a corner in the dirt and found another wooden door, this one upright.

Again with my curiosity, my gut told me to open, so I did. What I was met with on the other side would clear a lot of things up. This hole in the dirt seemed to host some form of study, with a few shelves and a desk against the wall. The shelves were mostly barren, with only a few scrap articles of paper and a latched journal adorning their surfaces. The desk had some small pieces of metal, old seed packs, and a few scribbled pictures of what looked like the shrine I was staying at. After a few minutes of looking at the art I noticed a trunk under the desk. I forced it open and found some useful stuff, including a long coil of rope, matches, a folding spade, and a long machete with teeth on it's spine. Not only that, there was a lot of writing equipment and even a small radio of sorts inside, as well as a few other small items.

At the time I of course didn't know the names of any of this, but I wasn't stupid. I could figure out what most of these items uses were just by seeing their shapes and angles. I left all the gear in the trunk and put the book and anything else I could fit inside before hauling it out and back to my shelter. I went back for the second door in the tunnel so I could close off my hut. I would eventually go back for the rest of the furniture, but at that time I was limited on space.

The night was again drawing near and I planted myself by the fire to finish up the previous days fish. The journal didn't help much then, it was in some language I couldn't understand. But every few pages there were pictures of diagrams, and some how to's of what I could only describe as rituals involving the gem. This gave me much to think about going into my slumber. The night air was cool running across my fur, and my fire crackled and popped throughout the darkness until I succumb to exhaustion.

The two weeks after went on much the same, I made a ritual out of morning fishing and even made some traps with the rope I found, resulting in small red bug-like creatures becoming a min a source of food. I dug out a small patch of land with the spade and planted some of the old seeds. I was almost certain nothing would come to fruition, the seeds could have been ancient and I was no gardener. As the days passed, keeping my fire going became a bigger and bigger priority, the days were becoming colder and the nights were nigh freezing. Being so high up in the air probably didn't help with the insulation issue. The leaves atop the forest were also changing in color, resulting in vibrant colors resembling a glowing fire. I did my best to tally the days I spent here on a piece of paper from the hovel to try and keep up with time.

Some point after day eleven I expanded the base of my shelter nearly doubling the internal volume, and added two extra layers of wall on all sides to help hold heat. The leaves from the trees again coming in handy to weave a sort of blanket. Another idea I had was to heat some porous rocks from the river and fashioning some sort of chamber under my bed. That was a then future me's problem though, the cold wasn't completely unbearable yet and most days were a pleasant degree.

On day fourteen on a trip to the creek, I heard something not natural to the forest. I heard someone yelling for help.

Authors Notes:

This story is being written as I think, I don't have much of a grand arc thought out yet and I'm open to ideas. I don't write much so any criticism or tips are much appreciated. I'm going for a different kind of origin story, and I want to do my best to include the nitty gritty details of island survival. I'm trying to find ways to integrate Knuckles (and eventually some of the other cast) superhuman abilities into a more feasible and easier to grasp narrative. He will get stronger and faster with time, the story starts with a modern Knuckles narrating when he was first cast upon his duty. He was somewhere near the age of 13 or 14 when he was dropped into the wilds. I will probably glance over some of the game lore eventually, and I do intend on taking some inspiration from his original archie lore, but for the most part I'm going to be pulling this out of my butt haha, I hope you do enjoy and thank you if you read/reviewed


End file.
